Pope Leo keeps Monday schedule ahead of surgery to remove lung nodule
The Vatican says Pope Leo is continuing his usual appointments before surgery this week to remove a small lung nodule, with recovery expected to take about a week.
Vatican City, Vatican City. Pope Leo is following his usual schedule on Monday while awaiting an operation to remove a small growth from one of his lungs, according to the Vatican. The procedure is planned for this week, and his recovery is expected to take approximately one week.
Surgery and public commitments
Leo, 71, announced on Sunday that a recent examination had detected a small nodule early, describing it as “well-contained”. On Monday, the Vatican press office confirmed that the discovery came during a routine medical check.
The Vatican has not announced the day of the operation. Several public engagements remain on the pope’s schedule this week, among them a Wednesday morning Mass at St. Peter’s Square. As of Monday morning, that service had not been cancelled.
Health and background
The world’s cardinals elected Leo in May 2025. Relatively young for a Church leader, he maintains a busy calendar overseeing the Church’s 1.4 billion members.
He enjoys sporting activities, including tennis. He is not known to smoke or to have experienced previous health problems.
Understanding lung nodules
A lung nodule is a small lesion confined to a particular area and may be benign. According to the American Thoracic Society, fewer than 5% of all lung nodules turn out to be cancerous. The society says the risk increases with age, nodule size and other factors, including smoking.
This news item was generated automatically by Cyprus Inform from publicly available materials. Report an error →